Why family nest?
At Family Nest Counseling, we are committed to helping you live the life you want. We believe that family and loved ones are the most important part of our lives; they teach us about life, shape us into the people we become, keep us real, and support our dreams. We are dedicated to helping you build stronger family ties and raise strong, independent children.
We have spent our careers building the knowledge and skill set we believe will best assist you in reaching your full potential; as an individual, parent or partner. We have elected to train in the Gottman Method Couples Therapy based on its background in research and high success rate. We have chosen Structural Family Therapy because we believe it best fits our philosophy that our family shapes and molds us into the people we will become. We have specialized in play therapy because we believe it best fits the needs of how children communicate. We are also one of the only agencies in the area with a Registered Play Therapist (RPT), meaning that their training has been recognized by the national Association of Play Therapy.
We have created a calm and relaxing office space with a dedicated room for play therapy and ample room for the family to sit and process together.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN TREATMENT
Phone Consultation
Making the initial call to seek services is a big accomplishment and starting you on the path to healing. A phone consultation can be anxiety provoking but it is worth the time to call and talk with the therapist who will be treating you. The call can help answer any questions or concerns you may have. This is also an opportunity to make sure that your needs and the therapist’s style and expertise are a good match.
Preparing for the first session
Take 10 minutes before your initial appointment to ponder why you are seeking therapy and what you want to get out of it. Ideally, start a journal that you can use to track your thoughts, feelings and progress during treatment. It may feel awkward or intimidating to discuss certain subjects at first; therapists however aren’t there to judge you, they chose their career because they want to help others. In order for your therapist to help, they need to know what you’re experiencing. Honesty is paramount to successful therapy. Your therapist will likely emphasize confidentiality. All therapists are ethically bound to safeguard the information you share with them. Other than a few rare circumstances, such as if they believe you may harm yourself or others, they can’t talk about you to anyone else without your permission.
The First Session
The initial session will revolve mostly around the therapist’s needs for paperwork and housekeeping tasks; such as insurance, billing, HIPAA issues, confidentiality and intake paperwork. Depending on your therapist and their style of treatment, they may ask about your childhood, education, job experiences, relationships, thoughts and feelings. Therapy isn’t a quick-fix. You won’t discover solutions at your first session. Just as it takes time for your problems to develop and negatively affect your life, it takes time to work through and unravel those challenges.
Perhaps the most important and most helpful aspects of therapy is the relationship between you and your therapist. This relationship takes time to develop. You may begin to establish a strong rapport from the very first session, but the deep connection and trust won’t develop instantly. Further, while you’ll begin to express yourself during the initial session, it won’t be until later on that the therapist knows you well enough to know what to ask and how to interpret your words and nonverbal communication, and you feel comfortable enough to go deeper in what you express.
Getting the Most Out of Treatment
In subsequent sessions, you and your therapist will develop a treatment plan based on what you want to achieve during treatment. Sessions will become cumulative in that they will build upon what you talk about, work on and progress being made.
You will get the most out of treatment if you spend a few minutes in reflection before and after each session. Plan to arrive a few minutes early to the session to sit and relax in the waiting room. Use this time to clear your head of the other events of the day, reflect on any journaling that you did during the week and determine whether there are any pressing issues that should be discussed that day. After the session, you are welcome to sit in the waiting room again or maybe just sit in your car, and reflect on your thoughts and feelings that arose during the session. Again using your journal to take notes, track progress, or write down homework for the week.
Progress in treatment and the length of treatment vary greatly between individuals and issues being addressed. Treatment can last a few months to a few years and sometimes have planned breaks.